al-Qaida Suspect's Extradition Approved

BERLIN -- German authorities said Wednesday they have approved the extradition of a Syrian-German businessman indicted by Spain on charges he is a key al-Qaida figure after a court cleared the way for his deportation.

Mamoun Darkazanli, 46, was arrested last month on a Spanish warrant. Spanish authorities accuse him of providing al-Qaida with logistical and financial support. He appears in a 1999 wedding video with two of the three Sept. 11, 2001 suicide pilots who lived and studied in Hamburg -- Marwan al-Shehhi and Ziad Jarrah.

The United States has labeled Darkazanli's Hamburg-based trading company a front for terrorism. He appeared on U.S. suspect lists after Sept. 11 but has denied any links to al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden or the attacks.

The Hamburg state court said Wednesday it had ruled a day earlier that "there is no obstacle to extradition."

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-germany-terror-suspect,0,4359235.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines